# 2002–03 Central Michigan Chippewas men's basketball team

The 2002–03 Central Michigan Chippewas men's basketball team represented Central Michigan University as a member of the Mid-American Conference during the 2002–03 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Jay Smith and played their home games at the Daniel P. Rose Center. After finishing atop the MAC regular season standings, the Chippewas won the MAC tournament to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 11 seed in the West region. Central Michigan defeated No. 6 seed Creighton in the opening round before losing to No. 3 seed Duke in the Round of 32. The team finished with a record of 25–7 (14–4 MAC).

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 22, 2002* | | George Mason | W 61–58 | 1–0 | Rose Arena Mount Pleasant, Michigan |
| Nov 26, 2002* | | Illinois State | W 74–69 | 2–0 | Rose Arena Mount Pleasant, Michigan |
| Nov 30, 2002* | | at DePaul | L 56–92 | 2–1 | Allstate Arena Rosemont, Illinois |
| Dec 3, 2002* | | at Michigan | W 85–78 | 3–1 | Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| Dec 8, 2002* | | Drake | W 73–61 | 4–1 | Rose Arena Mount Pleasant, Michigan |
| Dec 14, 2002* | | at Marist | W 88–66 | 5–1 | McCann Field House Poughkeepsie, New York |
| Dec 18, 2002* | | at Bradley | W 74–71 | 6–1 | Carver Arena Peoria, Illinois |
| Dec 23, 2002* | | at Valparaiso | L 51–65 | 6–2 | Athletics-Recreation Center Valparaiso, Indiana |
| Dec 30, 2002 | | Spring Arbor | W 113–63 | 7–2 | Rose Arena Mount Pleasant, Michigan |
| Jan 4, 2003 | | at Miami (OH) | L 62–71 | 7–3 (0–1) | Millett Hall Oxford, Ohio |
| Jan 8, 2003 | | at Western Michigan | W 80–75 | 8–3 (1–1) | University Arena Kalamazoo, Michigan |
| Jan 11, 2003 | | Ohio | W 87–84 | 9–3 (2–1) | Rose Arena Mount Pleasant, Michigan |
| Jan 14, 2003 | | at Marshall | W 81–78 | 10–3 (3–1) | Henderson Center Huntington, West Virginia |
| Jan 18, 2003 | | Buffalo | W 97–73 | 11–3 (4–1) | Rose Arena Mount Pleasant, Michigan |
| Jan 22, 2003 | | Ball State | W 83–74 | 12–3 (5–1) | Mount Pleasant, Michigan |
| Jan 25, 2003 | | at Eastern Michigan | L 68–84 | 12–4 (5–2) | Convocation Center |
| Jan 29, 2003 | | at Kent State | L 78–82 | 12–5 (5–3) | Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center Kent, Ohio |
| Feb 1, 2003* | | Bowling Green | W 88–71 | 13–5 (6–3) | Rose Arena Mount Pleasant, Michigan |
| Feb 8, 2003 | | at Akron | W 99–92 | 14–5 (7–3) | James A. Rhodes Arena Akron, Ohio |
| Feb 10, 2003 | | Western Michigan | W 77–58 | 15–5 (8–3) | Rose Arena Mount Pleasant, Michigan |
| Feb 15, 2003 | | at Toledo | W 66–64 | 16–5 (9–3) | John F. Savage Hall Toledo, Ohio |
| Feb 19, 2003 | | Ball State | W 94–92 | 17–5 (10–3) | Rose Arena Mount Pleasant, Michigan |
| Feb 22, 2003 | | at Northern Illinois | W 87–75 | 18–5 (11–3) | Convocation Center DeKalb, Illinois |
| Feb 25, 2003 | | Akron | L 69–70 | 18–6 (11–4) | Rose Arena Mount Pleasant, Michigan |
| Mar 1, 2003 | | Eastern Michigan | W 106–89 | 19–6 (12–4) | Rose Arena Mount Pleasant, Michigan |
| Mar 5, 2003 | | Northern Illinois | W 73–57 | 20–6 (13–4) | Rose Arena Mount Pleasant, Michigan |
| Mar 8, 2003 | | at Ball State | W 86–66 | 21–6 (14–4) | Worthen Arena Muncie, Indiana |
| MAC Tournament ||||||
| Mar 13, 2003* | (1) | vs. (9) Bowling Green Quarterfinals | W 87–70 | 22–6 | Gund Arena Cleveland, Ohio |
| Mar 14, 2003* | (1) | vs. (4) Northern Illinois Semifinals | W 94–72 | 23–6 | Gund Arena Cleveland, Ohio |
| Mar 15, 2003* | (1) | vs. (2) Kent State Championship Game | W 77–67 | 24–6 | Gund Arena Cleveland, Ohio |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 20, 2003* CBS | (11 W) | vs. (6 W) No. 15 Creighton First Round | W 79–73 | 25–6 | Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Mar 22, 2003* CBS | (11 W) | vs. (3 W) No. 7 Duke Second Round | L 60–86 | 25–7 | Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## Awards and honors

* Chris Kaman – MAC Player of the Year, AP Honorable Mention All-American
* Jay Smith – MAC Coach of the Year

## 2003 NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Team |
| 1 | 6 | Chris Kaman | Los Angeles Clippers |